can work closely with, then you are likely to regret ever having accepted the money.
Other Equity Sources
Small Business Administration's 7(a) Guaranteed Business Loan Program
Promoting small businesses by guaranteeing long- term loans, the Small Business Administrations 7(a) Guaranteed Business Loan Program has been sup¬porting startup and high-potential ventures since 1953." The 7(a) loan program provides 40,000 loans annually. The 7(a) program is almost exclusively a
guarantee program, but under this program the Small Business Administration also makes direct loans to women, veterans of the armed forces, and minorities, as well as other small business. The program entails banks and certain nonbank lenders making loans that are then guaranteed by SB A for between 50 percent and 90 percent of each loan, with a maximum of $1 mil¬lion. Eligible activities under 7(a) include acquisition of borrower-occupied real estate, fixed assets such as machinery and equipment, and working capital for items such as inventor)' or to meet cash (low needs.21 SB A programs have a noteworthy effect on the economy and entrepreneurship. The $1 million guar¬antees, the largest of all the SBA programs, have helped many entrepreneurs start, stay in, expand, or purchase a business. According to the SBA, in 2000, 541,539 jobs were created by SBA borrowers, and the SBA helped create 2.3 million jobs or about 15 per¬cent of all jobs created by small businesses between 1993 and 1998.